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question about my boiler and the current radiator setup. jlm@subpoenaman.com 08-21-2006
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Posted by jlm@subpoenaman.com on August 21, 2006, 11:26 pm
I have a older house that has the boiler in the celler and baseboard
radiators in every room.
three years ago I purchased and installed myself a new boiler. the way
the older system was installed was a large loop starting in bedroom
then going complete around the house back into the boiler..the house is
always heating unevenly. hot in the first room..and getting cooler as
it loops. I'm thinking about redoing the hole system but I'm not sure
I have it correct. my Idea is to start a 1 inch copper pipe down in
the basement and at every room put a 'diverter valve' ?? with 3/4
copper up to the baseboard then back down to the main pipe. do this for
every room with a baseboard. is this the way it should be done? do you
think it would help with the uneven heating. any other ideas ?

thank you


Posted by m Ransley on August 22, 2006, 6:01 am
Is the pump new, system bled.


Posted by Paul Franklin on August 22, 2006, 6:12 am
On 21 Aug 2006 20:26:59 -0700, "jlm@subpoenaman.com"

>I have a older house that has the boiler in the celler and baseboard
>radiators in every room.
>three years ago I purchased and installed myself a new boiler. the way
>the older system was installed was a large loop starting in bedroom
>then going complete around the house back into the boiler..the house is
>always heating unevenly. hot in the first room..and getting cooler as
>it loops. I'm thinking about redoing the hole system but I'm not sure
>I have it correct. my Idea is to start a 1 inch copper pipe down in
>the basement and at every room put a 'diverter valve' ?? with 3/4
>copper up to the baseboard then back down to the main pipe. do this for
>every room with a baseboard. is this the way it should be done? do you
>think it would help with the uneven heating. any other ideas ?
>
>thank you
By itself, what you propose probably won't help much. You'll still
have a series system with hotter water at one end than the other and
no way to regulate heat in the rooms.

What you are looking for is a zoned system. If you add a thermostatic
control valve to each room so you can control the temp in each room
you will have a better shot at evening temps out. The diverter Tees
allow hot water to flow into the room loop when the thermostatic valve
is calling for heat, but allow water to flow along to the next loop as
well or when a given room isn't calling for heat.

There are other ways to get a zoned system, such as multiple
circulators and electic or pneumatic zone valves with parallel loops.
There are a lot of variables that go into properly designing such a
system. Get a copy of "Modern Hydronic Heating" if you are committed
to DIY, or call a pro to help design it at least.

HTH,

Paul Franklin



Posted by RayV on August 22, 2006, 8:41 am

jlm@subpoenaman.com wrote:
> I have a older house that has the boiler in the celler and baseboard
> radiators in every room.
> three years ago I purchased and installed myself a new boiler. the way
> the older system was installed was a large loop starting in bedroom
> then going complete around the house back into the boiler..the house is
> always heating unevenly. hot in the first room..and getting cooler as
> it loops. I'm thinking about redoing the hole system but I'm not sure
> I have it correct. my Idea is to start a 1 inch copper pipe down in
> the basement and at every room put a 'diverter valve' ?? with 3/4
> copper up to the baseboard then back down to the main pipe. do this for
> every room with a baseboard. is this the way it should be done? do you
> think it would help with the uneven heating. any other ideas ?
>
> thank you

It might help but I would start with making sure there is no air in the
system. Once the pump circulates the water one time all of the
baseboards should be about the same temperature. It is amazing how
much a tiny bit of air in the system will affect the performance. It
you do want to install a 1" manifold with 3/4 take off pipes you need
to install directional or monflow tees to make sure the water is
flowing to each loop. If you don't install these tees the flow will
take the easiest path and may make your problem worse. The type of tee
I'm talking about can be seen here:
http://www.houseneeds.com/Shop/HeatingProducts/HydronicHeating/Fittings/fittingsbuypage.asp
or
http://tinyurl.com/kna2s

If you had even heat before it is almost certainly air in the system or
a bad pump.

You could also add additional zones with thermostats and solenoids but
that is not going to give you a great improvement in a one-story home.


Posted by on August 22, 2006, 12:19 pm
There are many ways to address this:

1) Create separate multiple zones (looks) with each controlled by a
zone valve and thermostat (or an independent look with a dedicate
circulator).

2) Calculate the heat lose per room (check out
http://www.slantfin.com/) . Determine the actual length of baseboard
needed for each room. Then add/delete baseboards as need. You could
also close off the baseboard (close damper). Or remove fins as needed
to reduce the heat. This assumes you have finned baseboards and not
cast iron.

3) Change the direction of the flow so the hottest water goes to the
coldest room first.

The real answer is #2. Figure out what heat the room needs and adjust
the baseboard size accordingly. It sounds like the baseboards were not
properly sized. Multiple loops are nice to allow you to turn the heat
off when not needed. Typically, you would put the bedrooms on one loop
and the common rooms on another,

jlm@subpoenaman.com wrote:
> I have a older house that has the boiler in the celler and baseboard
> radiators in every room.
> three years ago I purchased and installed myself a new boiler. the way
> the older system was installed was a large loop starting in bedroom
> then going complete around the house back into the boiler..the house is
> always heating unevenly. hot in the first room..and getting cooler as
> it loops. I'm thinking about redoing the hole system but I'm not sure
> I have it correct. my Idea is to start a 1 inch copper pipe down in
> the basement and at every room put a 'diverter valve' ?? with 3/4
> copper up to the baseboard then back down to the main pipe. do this for
> every room with a baseboard. is this the way it should be done? do you
> think it would help with the uneven heating. any other ideas ?
>
> thank you


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